Q: For (Broncos offensive coordinator Mike) McCoy, what head-coaching job and quarterback situation could possibly be more attractive than continuing to build his resume with Peyton Manning? Did other teams poach the Colts offensive coordinators when Peyton was there?

A: Christian, McCoy is in a prime position to draw interest for a head-coaching job. He was interviewed last season and was among the finalists for the Dolphins’ job. His team is winning. And Manning is his quarterback.

That is a textbook scenario for drawing interest.

If he is hired, he has obviously achieved something he would like to achieve. He’s made no secret he would like to be a head coach and believes he’s ready for the job.

But if, for some reason, he isn’t hired this time around, he stays with a team that finished tied for the best record in the league in the regular season with Peyton Manning at quarterback.

So, that is truly a win-win situation for McCoy, defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio or any of the other Broncos assistants. And if he chooses to be picky, he has the current working situation that allows him to do that.

He doesn’t have to take a job with poor infrastructure around it or a team with no frontline choice at quarterback and no legitimate plan to get one. The wild card this year for any of the teams searching for new head coaches is this is not considered a good year to be searching for a quarterback in the draft.

Unlike last April when several teams knew they would have a crack at a potential franchise changer behind center because the draft was historically deep at the position, those play-right-away passers are not really in this draft.

So, the teams looking for solutions behind center are going to have a more difficult time trying to repair that issue. That impacts how much success a new head coach can have in an environment where it suddenly looks like two years is the window to get something done to impress increasingly impatient owners.

Cleveland coach Pat Shurmur was fired after two years. Tennessee coach Mike Munchak barely survived after just finishing his second season; the team’s COO was fired, and Munchak was close to being fired. And Buffalo coach Chan Gailey was fired after three seasons.

So, as much as McCoy or most other coordinators around the league want to be head coaches, perhaps they should always take pause to make sure it’s right. But the money — usually a significant raise in a three- or four-year guaranteed deal for a first-time head coach — is always enticing as is the opportunity to run the show.

In the end, his value on a team with a top five defense with Manning at quarterback certainly isn’t going down if things don’t work out this time around. So, there’s taking a job and there’s taking the right job.

He has the ability to take the right job if he elects to take a more patient route.

As far as Manning’s play-callers in Indianapolis, veteran coach Tom Moore was in that role for all but one season of Manning’s time with the Colts. Moore was an assistant coach, with Broncos coach John Fox, on Chuck Noll’s coaching staff with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1989.

And he was the guy on the headset to Manning from 1998, Manning’s rookie year, to 2010. After the 2010 season the Colts did not renew Moore’s contract.

Manning and Moore were together for 208 regular-season games, 19 more in the playoffs. So, Manning didn’t face any change in that relationship for all but one season of his time with the Colts and all of his seasons as a starter.

Manning didn’t play in 2011 following neck surgery, so if McCoy left it would be the first time in his career he will have played for an offensive coordinator who was not there in his next season behind center in games.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Tyreek Hill had touchdowns receiving and on a punt return, Kansas City’s defense made life miserable for Oakland quarterback Derek Carr, and the Chiefs beat the Raiders 21-13 on a frigid Thursday night to take control of the AFC West. Charcandrick West also had a touchdown run for the Chiefs (10-3). They moved into a first-place...